Cloaking An Affiliate Link With PHP
There comes a time when you may want to put up an affiliate link on your site, and this is normal for Internet Marketers and Website owners alike. All income streams are welcome, and if you are providing great content and advice, then it is completely acceptable. Of course, there are sites out there that are just spam machines too, although I have little respect for such things. What I want to show you today is how to cloak an affiliate link on your blog, so that it looks like the link is part of your own site, and not an ugly affiliate link or tinyurl. Another reason to do this is so that people will not be able to see the merchant’s link and cut you out of the deal. To do this, you will need only a small amount of technical knowledge.
Video Tutorial On Cloaking An Affiliate Link
For the purposes of today’s post on how to cloak an affiliate link, I will ‘build’ a real life example of a service that I will promote on this blog. I have my hosting with Mochahost, and they have not let me down in many years of being a client with them, so I feel it’s totally acceptable to give them a plug (with my affiliate link of course).
Log in to your blog or website via FTP, and in the remote pane, we will want to create a new directory. As I want the affiliate link to look like this clintmaher.com/mochahost/ I will create a folder called mochahost. Many people will go one step further, and have the link similar to this, yourdomain.com/recommends/mochahost/ To do this, you will first create the folder named recommends, and then create a folder inside that named mochahost. Easy stuff, so let’s keep going.
Disguising Your Affiliate Link
Assuming you have your affiliate link for the product you are promoting on your site, you will want to open a new text document in a text editor such as notepad. Now, let us save this file (to somewhere you remember) as index.php, although when you save it ensure that you Save as Type >> All Files, and not as a text document. You can do this from the drop down box. Now copy and paste this code in the notepad file, and make sure you put in your affiliate link instead of the fake one in red below:
<?php
header(’Location: http://www.merchantsite.com/aff/idevaffiliate.php?id=831‘);
?>
Save the document again, and it will automatically save as a php file this time.
Jump back into your FTP client such as FireFTP (you are using Firefox I hope?) and put the new file across to the directory you created, and in my case I want it in clintmaher.com/mochahost/
Now comes the fun part and you get to test it to ensure the affiliate link works. Click here to find out. Notice the URL when you run your cursor over the anchored text. Looks so much better than a long and unattractive affiliate link. Well that’s how to cloak an affiliate link in the easiest way I can describe.
To your success,
Clint Maher
Australian Internet Marketing Consultant
Copyright © 2009
Tags: affiliate link, cloak, fireFTP, php
Inserting Video Into Wordpress
Over the last few years there have been a number of Wordpress Plugins designed to make inserting a video an easier process. Up until Wordpress version 2.8 I used to use a plugin dedicated to YouTube Videos, although the particular Plugin didn’t seem to work with the upgraded Wordpress version.
It was then that I discovered the Viper Quick Tags Wordpress Plugin, and this Plugin was a lot more powerful than anything that I had ever used in the past. With just this one Plugin you can now insert into your Wordpress Post videos directly from sites including:
- YouTube
- Google Video
- DailyMotion
- Vimeo
- Veoh
- Viddler
- Metacafe
- Blip.tv
- Flickr videos
- Spike.com/IFILM
- MySpaceTV
Using Viper Quick Tags Wordpress Plugin
This could not be made more simple. After downloading and activating the Plugin, you can head over to the settings and change the parameters to your liking for each video service. This allows you to do such things as setting the video player size, colours, borders and even such things as having your videos made as auto-play. Very nice indeed.
Once you have it set up to your specifications, you can begin to insert video into your Wordpress Post. The Viper Quick Tags will appear in the Visual Editor, and each video service will have it’s own icon. Click on the icon of the video service that you want to use, and a pop up box will appear asking you the URL of the video you want inserted. Assuming you have already got the URL of the video you want to display, paste it in the box and hit enter. If you want to centre the video or left/right align you can do it from the visual editor just like you would with text.
That’s how easy it is to use, and it is one Wordpress Plugin that I could not do without these days. Most importantly it makes the process so quick, and you will save a lot of time. Go and get the Viper Quick Tags Wordpress Plugin, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
To your success,
Clint Maher
Australian Internet Marketing Consultant
Copyright © 2009
Tags: article, plugin, post, video, viper quick tags, Wordpress, YouTube
Using The TweetMeMe Wordpress Plugin
There is no escaping Twitter these days, and once you have got your head around how it works, it is a valuable tool for the savvy Internet Marketer. Like any form of Social Media, it is not all about you and your product, it is a two street and a community where you are expected to have quality input and participation in order to reap the rewards. TweetMeMe is a Call To Action if you like on your blog posts that actually take the Tweeting out of your hands and into your readers instead. If you content is quality and helpful, then let your readers promote you instead. That is more powerful than Tweeting your own posts any day in my book.
TweetMeMe.com is a website tied in with Twitter that has a voting system on it, perhaps a little similar to Digg. Once someone Retweets your article via the TweetMeMe button, the post will automatically be added to their website. It’s a bit of a double whammy really, as you get in the voting system here and the exposure, and also the person who Tweets it will display the Tweet to their followers. How much better can you get?
A while back I started to use the TweetMeMe script in my blog code, and then a Wordpress Plugin was made to make it possible for everyone with a wordpress blog to use it with ease. Today I just want to take you through the installation steps, and how to set it up correctly so you can do the same with your blog.
TweetMeMe Video Tutorial
Install the TweetMeMe Plugin like you would any other Plugin from your Wordpress Admin panel. Activate it then head to your Settings area and select the TweetMeMe option.
As in the video, you now have several options that you can modify the plugin with.
- The position of the TweetMeMe Button
- The Type of Button
- Where the button is displayed
- The Twitter source (Twitter user name you want to display)
- TweetMeMe Styling
Once you have played around and got your TweetMeMe button looking good, make sure you save any changes.
This is a very powerful plugin to be using right now. Twitter is hot and if you’re not utilizing it then you are severely restricting yourself in the online scene. I hope you enjoyed this TweetMeMe Wordpress Plugin Video Tutorial.
To your success,
Clint Maher
Australian Internet Marketing Consultant
Copyright © 2009
Tags: plugin, Social Media, tutorial, Tweetmeme, Twitter, video, Wordpress
Enhance Your Wordpress Experience With Live Writer
A couple of years ago now, Microsoft actually did something pretty cool (a first) and made an application called Windows Live Writer, and one of the components of this app, is that you can use it to write your Wordpress Blog posts from your desktop. Why is this better than using the Wordpress admin panel you might ask? Well, if you’re like me and travel a lot and are on a plane, this is a perfect time to be creating new blog posts while you are without an Internet connection. I am going to teach you how to use Windows Live Writer with Wordpress right now, and it was my friend Harsh Agrawal that put me on to it not so long ago.
WLR works with XML-RCP,a which in layman’s terms means it is a technology that allows applications that are not Wordpress to interact and talk with your blog. In order to use WLR you will have to log in to your Wordpress admin panel and head to Settings > Writing > Remote Publishing and select the XML-RPC setting, and of course you must save your options.
Now it’s time to head over to Windows Live Writer and download and install the application. When you run the app for the first time you will be asked a few different options about exactly what you do want installed. Personally, I do not like Microsoft apps such as their tool bar, Messenger,Mail and other Live services, so I just want to select the Writer selection and install that. Just before you complete installation you will be asked to set your search provider and home page as MSN, and I recommend that you do not. Just a personal choice though. You will also be asked to use a Windows Live ID, and again, you can now close this window as the application has already been installed.
Using Windows Live Writer For The First Time For Wordpress
Open up the application from your Start Menu and you will have to configure it before you can sync it with your stand alone Wordpress blog. When the option come up to select which blog service you use, select Wordpress. Now you will have to put in the URL, as well as your Wordpress username and password and away you go.
The user interface is nice and clean, with a WYSIWYG and visual editor at the top, and down the side are your options to insert things such as links, pictures, tables and other media. At the bottom of the WLW interface is where you select your category, insert tags, and also your publish date if you want to postpone it. You will also notice that apart from the edit pane, you can select preview and source code too. You also have some advanced option below which you will have to click on the button to expand and see these. Here you can add an excerpt and put in Trackbacks to multiple URL’s.
Windows Live Writer Wordpress Video Tutorial
Possible Windows Live Writer Issues For Wordpress
There are a couple of things that I don’t like about WLW, and the main one was the fact that it is unable to specify custom fields, and for one particular plugin that I use, this was a major concern. However, after asking my best friend Google about it, he quickly told me there was a plugin bridge to overcome this issue. The plugin in question was All In One SEO Pack, and the location for the All In One SEO Pack Windows Live Writer Bridge is here. Another thing to watch out for is if you change the size of fonts of your Heading tags, it will change them to a different tag. For example, I use a H2 heading with a size 14 font, and WLW will change it to H4 if I change the font size. Luckily you can change it what you like, although if you did not check you probably would not have realised.
So that is pretty much how to use Windows Live Writer with Wordpress, and I suggest that you download the app and give it a go. If you blog a lot or just want to leverage your business on the web, then it will save you a lot of time as it loads a lot quicker that the Wordpress admin panel, and it is very easy to get used to.
To your success,
Clint Maher
Australian Internet Marketing Consultant
Copyright © 2009
Tags: All In One SEO Pack Bridge, Blog, Interface, Video Tutorial, Windows Live Writer, Wordpress
Seven Reasons Why Wordpress 2.8 Is Better Than Ever
Wordpress 2.8 Beta
Just when we got used to Wordpress version 2.7.1, along comes the latest version in Beta. Being a fan of all things Wordpress, I downloaded and installed this latest version to see what surprises lay in store. I’m happy to say that some updates that I had hoped and assumed would be included, have been. So let’s get into the top seven reasons why Wordpress 2.8 is better that its predecessor.
1. Upload New Wordpress Themes From Within The Admin Panel
With the introduction of 2.7, you have been able to upload plugins from within the admin panel, so it was only a matter of time before the same was going to apply to themes to. For many users this will eliminate having to use FTP clients, and by the look of a lot of Wordpress Blogs out there, this is a good thing. As well as being able to upload the themes from within the panel, you can also browse themes and search via keywords, and also apply filters too based on width, colours and columns.
2. Theme Management Improvements
In previous versions of Wordpress to change a theme, you had to select the theme you wanted, and then either press activate or close after viewing a preview of the theme. Many times this preview would not work due to various issues such as plugins or bad code. Now you get options to activate immediately if you want, and also to delete the theme if you want as well.
3. Widget Section Overhaul
Finally (again) all your sidebars are now visible on the screen, instead of having to select from the drop down box. When you have multiple sidebars this makes a lot of difference as you don’t have to try and remember what goes where. The layout is much cleaner and is a lot easier to use.
4. Ability To Edit All Plugin Files From Within The Editor
If a plugin has multiple files you can now edit each file individually. Great if a plugin is not working well with the theme that you are using, and if you know a bit of coding, you can tweak it in order to get it to work correctly.
5. Edit Individual Comments From The Edit Post Section
Now there is the option to see any comments that have already been made below the post box at the bottom. You can do the usual things here such as delete, spam, and reply. As you can see I have been left a comment from a Viagra spammer !
6. Manage Tags
Version 2.8 brings a completely new option and you can now manage your tags from under the Posts section called (funnily enough) Post Tags. It gives you the option to create a new tag, a tag slug, and of course a description too.
7. Dashboard Changes Made Easier
By clicking on the Screen Options tab, you can now change the look of your dashboard a whole lot easier, and can set the number of columns that you want to be shown. Anything from one to four columns is allowed.
There are a whole stack of other changes and improvements from the previous version, although for most users of Wordpress, these ones will be the most noticeable by far. Not to sure how far away the full release is, although this Beta version seems pretty stable from what I can tell.
Wordpress is just getting easier to learn, and easier to use, and that means more and more people will be turning to this awesome tool in the near future. A someone who blogs a lot and who only uses Wordpress, this version in my humble opinion is the best yet. Let me know your thoughts on Wordpress 2.8.
To your success,
Clint Maher
Australian Internet Marketing Consultant
Copyright © 2009
Tags: 2.7.1, 2.8, comment, dashboard, plugin, tag, theme, widget, Wordpress